# What syntax and parameter placement allows me to specify the radius of this circle inside tikz-pgf?

\begin{tikzpicture}[overlay,remember picture]
\path node [draw, circle, inner sep = 0] at (current page.center) {Test circle\ldots};
\end{tikzpicture}


I have this circle and want to specify it's radius with command I have saved with the name \sRadius but I can't find where to place my value for /tikz/radius

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You can use minimum width as you are defining circle as a node shape:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[overlay,remember picture]
\path node [draw, circle,minimum width=\sRadius, inner sep =0cm] at (current page.center) {Test circle\ldots};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}


Note that the minimum width will be equal to the diameter. If you are re-using this node many times, then you may put the parameters inside a tikz style.

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\tikzset{Circle/.style={shape=circle, minimum size=#1, inner sep=0pt}, Circle/.default=\sRadius} might be a helpful style. – Qrrbrbirlbel Apr 15 '13 at 4:16
But why is the property radius not accessible? – Supernovah Apr 15 '13 at 5:06
@Supernovah Because it's a node and many factors effect the radius. The text content, line width, inner sep, outer sep etc. all is considered by TikZ before coming up with a number in the bowels of shape declaration and that is not a fixed number. If you put more text in the node TikZ enlarges the circle. If you need a simple circle use a circle instead of a node. – percusse Apr 15 '13 at 7:35
Okay so my goal is to draw a number of circles that need to be as wide as the page and slightly smaller and then also a large number of arcs inside them. Is tikz the best library for this? – Supernovah Apr 15 '13 at 21:35
@Supernovah tikz can do it quite neatly. Use minimum width = \textwidth (or \paperwidth if you mean it). For arc, you may use something like \draw (0,0) arc (0:270:5cm); meaning an arc starting at point (0,0) from angle 0 to 270 with a radius of 5cm. Refer pgfmanual for more details (www.texdoc.net). – Harish Kumar Apr 15 '13 at 22:16